Field Trips Are Another Casualty of Attacks

By ADAM BOWLES

Published: November 4, 2001

THIS was the year that 14 students at Litchfield High School were especially excited about. It was suppose to be their turn to go to Spain for the first time as part of a foreign exchange program. But while the band and chorus may still go to Montreal, the Spain journey is far less certain. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are the reason why.

''In the past if we wanted to go to Spain, great,'' said Rochelle Schwartz, the assistant principal. ''But we're evaluating them more closely. The exchange is a really good learning experience. We would be really sad if we can't do that. But there's less concern driving buses to Montreal than there is flying airplanes to Spain.''

The terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon has turned the normally straightforward process of scheduling field trips into a tricky, worrisome matter for schools. Educators have been forced to weigh concern over safety with the cultural and educational benefits students receive from field trips.

Thomas Murphy, spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Education, said the decision is up to each local school board. He added that the state has not officially recommended whether schools should cancel field trips.

''We know that a number of school boards for local districts took up the matter and some of them have decided to curtail out-of-state travel and out-of-country travel,'' Mr. Murphy said. ''Some others have decided to review each trip on a case-by-case basis. The motivation here was the safety and security of students and staff balanced with the desire to return back to normal.''

In Stratford, for example, the school board was considering canceling a trip to the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. by the Bunnell High School Marching Band and Guard. Late last month, the board approved the trip, saying it was up to the parents to decide if their children should stay home. [Page 7.]

Nicholas Caruso, spokesman for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, said that about two weeks ago he had heard of only one school district that canceled a field trip because of security concerns. Now, he said, most districts have suspended or eliminated interstate and international field trips for the rest of the school year.

''It'll be a while before we get back to where we were, if ever,'' Mr. Caruso said. ''Where do we usually send kids? Washington and New York. Both of those are targets right now. There's no law that says you have to give field trips. It's something you do to enhance an educational program.''

Mr. Caruso added that some school districts have begun to ease their field trip restrictions so that a trip to an in-state historic attraction such as Mystic Seaport is once again allowed.

In Norwich, administrators decided in late October to allow day trips in which students are back no later than 6 p.m., but all overnight trips have been canceled until further notice.

This decision is a slight change from the one they made at the end of September. At that time, administrators agreed to restrict field trips to those that return to school by 1:30 p.m., essentially limiting trips to four hours or less.

''This is all new territory,'' Superintendent Michael Frechette said.

Mr. Frechette said the middle school's ski club and band typically make out-of-state trips during the year. The middle schools also had planned trips at the end of the year to Washington, New York and Boston, but these have been canceled.

While Mr. Frechette said most parents welcomed the change, one former Norwich student objected to it on behalf of her younger brother.

''As a student who attended the weeklong trip to Williamsburg with Kelly Middle School in 1997, I am deeply saddened that the school board has decided to eliminated these trips,'' Nina Quinley, 19, said in a letter to Norwich school officials. ''They were a very important part of the eighth-grade year and provided students with a way to see new places with their classmates and their teachers that they might not be able to do otherwise. I am very upset that my brother, an eighth grader at Kelly, will not be able to have the same experience.''

Her mother, Ronda Quinley, was even more critical of the decision.

''I am appalled that you would curtail and cancel civic and cultural trips designed to enhance our students' lives based on the fear of something happening due to terrorist activity,'' she wrote.

Nancy Mattern, a social studies teacher at Preston Plains Middle School, said each year she takes her class to Washington to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. But this year the trip has been rescheduled for Pennsylvania, where instead they will tour Gettysburg and other historical sites.

''We didn't want to get down there and find out we can't get into the city,'' Ms. Mattern said.

Some districts, such as Westport, have taken no action regarding field trips. Joyce Losen, Westport's assistant to the superintendent, said none of the seven schools in her district have field trips scheduled in the next few weeks. She added that the eighth graders traditionally visit Washington every spring, but the Board of Education has not considered whether to cancel it. ''There's still time,'' Ms. Losen said. ''Our approach is 'wait and see.' ''

In Newington, where there are seven schools, including two middle schools and one high school, education officials share a similar attitude.

''We're being very cautious and conservative,'' Dave Gowell, the assistant superintendent, said. ''We haven't canceled any trips, but at the time the attacks occurred we didn't have that many scheduled. We will look at each field trip on an individual basis.''

Newington middle schools students visit Williamsburg, Va., in the spring each year. No decision has been made whether to keep that tradition alive this year. Meanwhile, Ms. Schwartz of Litchfield said her school has not gone as far as canceling all overnight trips. Instead, school officials plan to talk to field trip sponsors and parents before making their decisions.

Sally Russell, 15, and a sophomore at Litchfield High School, said she is looking forward to the trip to Spain in April. She said she would not be worried about her personal safety on the journey, but that the question of security is reasonable.

''I would be really upset if I didn't go, but I understand where they're coming from,'' Ms. Russell said.

Allysa Palmer, 17, and a Litchfield senior, said her classmates were worried that their band and chorus trip to Montreal in May would be canceled because of fears over security.

''It is an opportunity that is very rare and it is a wonderful experience,'' she said. ''I'm concerned, but not nervous and not that nervous that I think canceling would be necessary. It's a safe destination that we're going to. But we can cancel up to the last minute.''

A nonrefundable deposit for the Spain trip is due in about a month.

''I have a feeling in a couple of weeks it's not going to be any of an easier decision to make,'' Ms. Schwartz said.

Photos: Allysa Palmer, 17, of the Litchfield High School band said she was concerned that its trip to Montreal would be canceled. (Don Heiny for The New York Times)(pg. 1); The teacher, Stephen Brookes, leads a practice of the Litchfield High School band. (Don Heiny for The New York Times)(pg. 4)